Year: 2012

Everpurse: a handbag with a built-in iPhone charger

There's tons of accessories on the market today that will bail you out in the event your iPhone dies while you're on the go. There's battery powered cases, chargers and more.

But we're willing to bet that you've never seen an accessory like the Everpurse. The handbag attempts to combine tech with fashion, with a built-in iPhone 5 charger...

iPhoneography: when in doubt, shoot first, compose later

We cover all sorts of things in this iPhoneography series. Everything from creativity and photographic principles to apps and gear. I had planned on carrying on with the theme of our previous two lessons about composition (the rule of thirds and the golden ratio) but then I saw this deer, and my entire lesson changed.

I have been meaning to write something like this for a while, so I figured there is no time like the present. It will be a short lesson.

Twitter adds iOS hacker Charlie Miller to its security team

If you are a long-time iDB reader, you'll likely recognize the name Charlie Miller. The iOS hacker has broken through the security of everything from the iPhone to the App Store.

Well it looks like Miller's iOS hacking days are over, at least for now. The systems expert announced on Friday that he will be joining Twitter's security team, starting next week...

VonCase cages your iPhone in aircraft grade aluminum

At vonCase Designs, the team aspires to create an "exceptional iPhone case that is as unique as it is durable." Utilizing American-made aircraft grade aluminum to craft complex designs with a hand-finished touch, vonCase enters with four eccentric iPhone cases that catch attention. Anodized for a permanent finish, the Variants, pop with vivid color and protect your precious device from drops and dings...

Apple posts full iPhone 5 schematics

This is pretty interesting. It looks like Apple has posted up the full schematics for the iPhone 5 on its developer website. Even if you're not a dev, you can find them in the Resources section.

Essentially, these are the blueprints for Apple's new smartphone. And they give accessory and case makers dimensions for everything from the ringer switch to the home button...

The iPhone 5’s new design could spell trouble for custom back panels

The iPhone 5, though some will argue that it looks similar, is a major departure from its predecessor. It has a larger screen, upgraded internals, and a new unibody design.

And as it turns out, that design could spell trouble for aftermarket back panels. Because instead of a single piece of glass — like on the iPhone 4 and 4S, you have this part-aluminum, part-glass back panel directly attached to internal components....

Apple “completely blown away” by customer response to the iPhone 5

Unless you've been sleeping under a rock the whole day, you probably know that iPhone 5 shipping times have dramatically been pushed back to up to 2-3 weeks, both on the online Apple store and at most carriers - just a mere hour or two after Cupertino with its partners began processing orders. Commenting on the situation, a spokesperson for the company acknowledged pent-up demand for the device, choosing interesting wording from the company's familiarly colloquial yet effective vocabulary...

Apple could be close to shifting CPU orders away from Samsung

The iPhone 5 comes with a brand new Apple-designed A6 chip for a twofold jump in CPU/GPU performance. In fact, the iPhone 5 could easily be the first ARM Cortex-A15 smartphone on the market. The A6 is likely manufactured on Samsung's 32-nanometer process, but probably not for long as Apple has been looking to take its chip contract elsewhere.

There ain't many places to go: Intel sucks at power management and Samsung is #2 chip vendor in the world. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), however, is the world's largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry and Apple could be closer than previously thought to shifting production contracts away from Samsung and towards TSMC.

Can you say "stock plunge"?

How I converted my Micro SIM into a Nano SIM

Before I get this party started, I just want to say that no, I don't have an iPhone 5 to absolutely guarantee it'll work in the device, but all that's really involved is some pretty basic math.

In this tutorial, I'll show you how I cut and shaved my Micro SIM down to Nano SIM sized specifications. It's not a 100% 1:1 ratio, but the size is very comparable to what you will find in an official Nano SIM. For that reason I'm feeling pretty confident that it will work with my iPhone 5 next Friday.

Take a look inside for the step-by-step video walkthrough that shows how I converted my Micro SIM card to a Nano sized SIM card.

Fieldrunners 2 HD now available for the iPad

Amidst all of the iPhone 5 excitement around here, we almost forgot to mention that Subatomic Studios released Fieldrunners 2 HD for the iPad last night.

The long-awaited sequel to the popular tower defense game hit the iPhone back in July, and now it's available for Apple's tablet with Retina graphics in tow...

ITC judge says Apple’s devices don’t infringe on Samsung’s patents

US ITC Judge James Gildea has ruled today that Apple's products did not violate Samsung's patents. This is the second US victory for Apple over Samsung in the last month.

Samsung originally filed the complaint with the International Trade Commission back in June of last year, complaining that Apple mobile devices violated four of its patents...

iCloud solar farm is nearly complete

Interesting new aerial shots of Apple's $1 billion iCloud data center in Maiden, North Carolina show that the company's 100-acre solar farm is nearly complete. Filed as the nation's largest end-user owned solar energy farm (take that, Greenpeace!), it will provide 20 megawatts of power when completed.

Thanks to these new aerial shots, we can now tell just how massive the facility is going to be. Compared to images take from an airplane on August 2, these new photos indicate that the solar farm is getting close to being completed...